FC Barcelona v AFC Ajax: Did you know?

Messi got a hat-trick against Ajax last season / PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ-FCB
This is only the third time that the two clubs have met in an official encounter

Barça have never lost at home to a side from the Eredivisie (4 victories and 3 draws)

Barça and Ajax are to face each other on Tuesday night at 8.45 PM CET in the third round of matches in the Champions League group stage. Here’s some background trivia to warm you up for the game.

  • Barça and Ajax are meeting for only the third time ever in a competitive match. In the first two meetings, in last year’s UCL, they got one win each.
  • Barça won 4-0 in the first official meeting between the two historic clubs on September 18, 2013.
  • Barça’s overall balance against Dutch teams is 6 victories, 6 draws and just 2 losses. At home, the stats are even better: 4-3-0.
  • Ajax have failed to win their last eight Champions League road games. Their last away win was in Zagreb in October 2011.
  • Ajax have lost on six of their last seven visits to Spain. The other game was a draw.
  • Ajax are in an eight-game unbeaten streak. They haven’t lost since August 31, when Groningen beat them 2-0. However, their last three games have all been draws.
  • Luis Enrique and Frank de Boer will be rival managers on Tuesday night, but they played together for Barça between 1999 and 2003.
  • As players, they faced each other in the Champions League in 1995/96. That was when Luis Enrique was still at Real Madrid, and the Dutch side won 1-0. Just a few months later, Luis Enrique moved to Barça.
  • The referee will be William Collum of Scotland. This is the second time he has whistled a Barça game. He also officiated at the Camp Nou for the visit of BATE Borisov in 2011/12 (4-0). He has never taken charge of an Ajax match before.